Removing Old Trees:

Sometimes a tree gets to the point where it is necessary to say goodbye to it. It can be a painful choice to m, but sometimes the tree gets too close to the house, gets too diseased, gets an incurable infestat of some pest, or grows too tall and gets close to a power line. If any of these things occur, its best to do the rt thing and get rid of the tree. Although you mt have spent hs and hs getting the tree to where it is today, it is almost dishonorable to the tree to allow it to suffer in bad condits.

Once you have made the choice to remove the tree, you need to plan its removal. I can't begin to count how many windows I've seen knocked or cars I've seen crushed because of poor planning in the tree removal cess. Decide w direct you want it to fall, and accurately measure to m sure it will fall completely clear of anything else t it could possibly cause damage to.

Once you have the falling direct planned , you should climb up the tree and tie two long ropes near the top. Anchor them on the opposite side of the one t you want it to fall towards. This will allow you to adjust the direct the tree is being lowered in, just in case it starts leaning towards anything it could destroy.

Now t you've tn all the necessary precauts, you are ready to begin chopping. If you plan on using a manually operated saw or axe, please step back and consider how insane t is. Chopping down a tree by hand will t you forever, and will not even begin to be as accurate as using a chainsaw. If you don't have a chainsaw, you shouldn't even consider doing it with one. Ask around with y nebors and see if anyone has one t you could borrow. If t doesn't work, rent or buy one from y local home imvement store.

Before you start chopping away at the tree, you should wear per eye and face tect in case any wood chips fly towards y eyes. I had a friend who blinded his rt eye while cutting down a tree, so I hope all of my readers do not m the same mist as he did. Whenever you operate a power tool, always be sure to wear per tect for any exposed parts of y body.

When making the cut, you do not want to just cut a strat line into the tree. It is best to cut a sideways "V" into the tree. This is because if you cut the strat line, the tree will end up rolling to one side or the other. If you cut in a "V", the tree will be able to fall in the exact direct t you want it to fall. Occasally it mt be a few feet off due to human error during the cutting cess, but if you have some strong friends pull on the ropes you tied, you can line it back up with the path you wanted it to t. The entire cess shouldn't t more than an h.

Removal of the stump can be sltly more difficult. You have several choices; you can rent a stump chipper t will completely destroy the visible sect of the stump. Or you can spend countless hs digging it . Digging the stump is much more thorough, but ts forever. If you have kids this shouldn't be a blem. Kids often find the thought of digging fun, and are excited to go side and dig all day long with their friends. This was the method I used, and I had the entire stump within a week. Keep in mind t my stump was ab 1 foot in diameter, and digging bably won't work for stumps much larger than t.